1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of customer service and the handling and processing of customer service requests. More specifically, the invention relates to handling and processing customer service requests received over a plurality of heterogeneous media.
2. Background
Customer service is an important part of any business. Many companies provide customer service via call centers in which incoming customer telephone calls are received and answered by customer service agents. Typically, each call center is staffed by agents with various skills. Calls are routed to an agent having an appropriate level of expertise for handling the particular kind of call. For example, an agent may have a language skill such as fluency in Spanish (in addition to English) or have expert knowledge of a particular product line.
As the internet has expanded, many companies are taking advantage of this communications medium to provide added methods of customer service. Many companies receive customer requests and comments sent by email either directly or through a web site. Such companies employ customer service agents to respond to these email messages. Responses may be in the form of an email reply or a telephone call.
In addition, the internet provides the ability to interactively service customers while the customer is accessing the company's web site. Such interactive customer service may take the form of interactive text, sometimes known as chat, or interactive voice over the internet. In the interactive voice scenario, a customer speaks into a microphone attached to the customer's computer while viewing the company's web site. The company must also employ persons to handle such internet text and internet voice customer service requests.